Júlio César feels the strain

The Olympiacos CFP coach Panagiotis Lemonis received some bad news today when central defender Júlio César was ruled out for the rest of the year with the thigh injury sustained against Real Madrid CF on Tuesday.

Critical matchThe Brazilian, who turns 29 later this month, was replaced 74 minutes into the scoreless draw and will now sit out the trip to S.S. Lazio on 28 November and the concluding Group C fixture against Werder Bremen two weeks later. The first match in Rome is particularly important as the clubs are locked together on five points, two ahead of the German challengers and three behind the Spanish champions.

Defensive concernsJúlio César's fellow defenders Paraskevas Antzas, Cristián Raúl Ledesma and Didier Domi are all recovering from injuries at present, although there was some cheer today when Raúl Bravo's achilles injury was revealed to be not as serious as first feared. He also went off against his former club Madrid, but will be fit for the trip to the Stadio Olimpico.

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